THERE are moments when all the pain of being a fan washes away and you thank God that you’re at the ground and part of the screaming mob. Friday night was one of those moments.

It all started well, with the Reds sprinting out of the blocks in an unrecognisable 4-4-2 formation. Barbiero was cutting the Smurfs into bite-sized pieces. We were flying. Then all of a sudden the ground went silent.

The curse was on us. Barbiero literally cut down Bridge and, with that decision, sliced deep into the heart of every Adelaide fan. Yet again our luck had deserted us. Just as Viddie had rolled the dice and presented us with an attacking formation, we had hit self-destruct. No way was he going to keep two up front now.

We were dead.

Except that football and religion are the places that miracles can happen. The dead can walk. The unbelievable can become fact. Sins can be forgiven and hope can grow where no seed of it could be found.

You getting the picture? Viddie held his nerve, Cristiano made his point, Leckie shone like a star and Rudan rolled back the years. And the crowd - the smallest crowd at Hindmarsh all year - found its voice and started to believe again. This truly was a night for football.

Now, I've been calling for Viddie to change things around along with the rest of you. I've been angry and confused and despairing. I wondered if Viddie had lost it. So, now I want to give credit where it's due. Aurelio made the tough calls and he got it right.

He had every reason to step back from them when we went down to 10 men. He didn't. It takes a brave man to realise he's backed himself into a corner. A braver man to push himself out of it. It takes real courage to keep coming out when the fates try  to push you back in.

Last Friday night belongs to a few Resurrection men but most of all it belongs to Viddie. Welcome back, mate. Don't stop changing.

Cristiano, the forgotten man, took his medicine. He even swallowed it in public. Then he got up off the floor and walked tall. He's not big or athletically built but he showed us how to fly and how to head a ball. Then he did his best to show us all what a forward does. He works for the team. He leads the line. He scores. Welcome back, Cristiano. To say that we've missed you would be an understatement of epic proportions.

Matthew Leckie seems to have appeared in the football world from nowhere. I can tell you that he is going somewhere. This 'kid' has obviously made a decision to trust himself and have a go. He has speed, ball control, technique and tricks. He has confidence - and confidence is catching. Welcome, Matthew. You won't have to carry the team on your shoulders but if you keep pushing us forward you'll be a hero.

It's official that Mark Rudan is now the Big Red Man (BRM). He's admitted that his first game was enough to make him reconsider coming home from Europe. We agreed. Now we've forgotten. I doubt that Alex Brosque will ever forget the tackle from Mark on Friday. He must have thought he'd left him behind. But the BRM caught him - and saved us. Heart, pride and passion did it. You've shown it to us, Rudes, now we'll show it to you. Welcome aboard.

Already I can hear the comments along the lines of, "It's only one win", etc. It is. It's the nature of the win and the way it happened that give me hope. Yes, we have Victory next and that's enough to give most reds fans a weak moment. They're even starting to play well.

This week they'll need to. The resurrection has begun. Some people won't believe me but I'm a man of faith. I see Red.

Postscript: The wise among you will have noticed that I haven't mentioned Paul Reid. He's not forgotten. In fact I think his return brought back the spine we've been missing. In some ways he is also back from the dead. But we expect Paul to be brilliant. The others have been to very dark places and have come up shining.